NURS Research Knowledge Check 5 Prep

What is observational research?

nonexperimental research

What is unique of observational research?

researchers do not intervene

What are correlational designs?

examine relationships between variable

What is used in observational research?

correlational designs

What may observational research be used to address?

disease/burden prevalence, prognosis, etiology

What are the three major observational research designs?

case-control, cohort, cross-sectional/descriptive

What is a case-control design?

researchers investigate factors associated with a disease or outcome

When is a case-control design done?

when the outcome of interest is rare

What do researchers study in a case-control design?

group of individuals with or without the disease of interest and look back in time to see whether a historical exposure is more common among the cases or controls

Can case-control studies support temporality (i.e., passage of time)?

depends

What is a cohort study?

used to evaluate factors associated with a disease or determining the prognosis of a disease

How is a cohort study performed?

a group of individuals exposed and not exposed to a variable and followed over time to compare the impact of a particular exposure on different outcomes

Can cohort studies support temporality?

yes

What are descriptive studies?

researchers describe or quantify a certain attribute/phenomena

What is descriptive correlational?

researchers investigate relationships between attributes/phenomena

Can cross-sectional descriptive studies support temporality?

no

What are advantages of observational studies?

can collect large amount of data in a small amount of time, can identify relationships between variables, can support temprality

What studies can support temprality?

cohort and case control

What are limitations of observational studies?

provides weak evidence for causal interference; subject to bias

What studies are subject to bias?

case control and cohort

What differs among observational study designs?

timing of data collection

What can case-control and cohort studies provide?

evidence of temporality and weak evidence to support causality

What is selection bias?

was the cohort representative of a defined population? was everyone included who should have been?

What is measurement bias?

was the exposure and outcome measured using valid and reliable instruments? were participants studied long enough to detect study outcomes?

What is confounding?

were extraneous variables controlled through the research design or statistical procedures?

The follwoingn is characteristic of observational research?

researchers observe phenomena as they naturally occur

In this type of study design, a group of individuals exposed and not exposed to a variable are followed prospectively over time to compare the impact of a particular exposure o different outcomes?

cohort study

What is a population?

the aggregate of cases in which a researcher is interested

What is accessible population?

the aggregate of cases that conform to designated criteria and that are accessible for a study

What is a target population?

the aggregate of cases about which the researcher would like to generalize

What is egibility criteria/inclsuive criteria?

criteria that specify population characteristics

What are kinds of eligibility criteria?

cost, practical constraints, people’s ability to participate, design considerations

What is sampling?

selection of a portion of the population to represent the entire population

What are elements?

basic population unit about which information is collected

What is a sample?

a subset of population elements

What is a nonprobability sample?

nonrandom methods

What is a probability sample?

random selection

What is convenience sampling?

using the most conveniently available people as participants

What are examples of convenience campling?

snowball and respondent-driven

What is snowball sampling?

network sampling/chain sampling

What is quota sampling?

selecting participants to ensure that diverse segments are represented in the sample according to predetermined population characterisitics

What is consecutive sampling?

recruiting all the people from an accessible population who meet the elibility criteria over a specific time interval or for a specified sample size

What is purposive sampling?

purposely selecting people who are consdiered particularly knowledgeable about the issue under study

What is simple random sampling?

using a sampling frame (a complete list of all elements in the population), particopants are chosen randomly

What is stratified random sampling?

dividing the population into two or more homogenous strata and randomly selecting participants from each stratum

What is multistage cluster sampling?

when a complete list of all elemets is unavailable, broad groups (clusters) are selected first, followed by random sampling within the chosen clusters

What is systematic sampling?

selecting every 4th case from a list (e.g., every 10th person on a patient roster)

What is part of nonproabability sampling?

convenience, quota, consectuive, purposive

What is probability sampling?

simple random, stratified random, multistage cluster, systematic

What factors affect sample size?

effect, homogeniety of the population, cooperation and attrition, subgroup analyses

What is effect size?

refers to the strength of relationships among research variables. When the relationship between the independent and depedent variables is strong, a relatively small sample size may be adequate to detect the relationship statistically

What is homogeneity of the population?

if the population is realtively homogenous, a small sample may be adequate to provide reliable results

What is cooperation and attrition?

the level of participant cooperation and the anticipated rate of attrition can affect sample size requirements

What is subgroup analyses?

when the sample is divided into subgroups to examine differences or subgroup effects, the sample must be large enoguh to support analyses

What is the first step in sampling?

identify the population

What is the second step in sampling?

specify the eligibility criteria

What is the third step in sampling?

specify the sampling plan

What is the fourth step in sampling?

recruit the sample

A nurse researcher identified their accessible population as women with high-risk pregnancies in the state of New York. Which group might be the researcher’s target population?

all women with high-risk pregnancies in the united states

A nurse researcher recruits study participants by placing a recruitment poster at the entrance to a reproductive healthcare center. What type of sampling did the researcher use?

convenience sampling

A researcher extracts information about hosptial readmissions from a population of 6,000 client records. The researcher samples every 20th record from the population, beginning with record number 5. What type of sampling did the researcher use?

systematic sampling

What are selecting types of measures?

self-reports, observations, biomarkers, records

What are considerations for selecting instruments?

resources, population appropriateness, norms and comparisons, clinical significance, administration issues, reputation

What is pretesting the data colleciton package?

identify parts hard to read or understand, identify questions found objectionable or offensive, assess if sequencing is sensible, evaluate training needs of data collectors, do measures yield data with sufficient variability

What are specific types of closed-ended questions?

dichotomous, multiple-choice, rank-order, forced-choice, rating scale, checklists, visual analog scales

What are likert-tupe summated rating scales?

agree vs, disagree, positive vs. negative statements

What are cogitive and neurophysiological tests?

intelligence tests, mini-mental status examination (MMSE)

What is administering structured self-report instrumetns?

collecting interview data, collecting questionnaire data through in-person distribution, collectiong questionnaire data through the mail, collection questionnaire data via the internet, follow-up reminders, patient-reported outcomes measurement information system

What is a response bias?

a systematic tendency for respondents to give biased answers i reaction to the interviewer’s beahavior, appearance, or manner of questioning

What is a social desirability response bias?

the tendency of some individuals to provide answers that they believe are socially acceptable or favorable

What are exxtreme responses?

a bias to consistently select the most extreme reponse options

What are yea-sayers/acquiescence response set?

a tendency to agree with statements regardless of their content

What are nay-sayers?

a tendency to disagree with statements regardless of their content

What is structured observation?

recording behaviors, interactions, and events in a systematic way

What is time-sampling?

the time frames may be selected systematically or at random

What is event sampling?

using integral behaviroal sets or events for observation

What are technical aids in observations?

auditory, video, mobile apps

What is evaluation of structured observation?

assimilatory biases, halo effect, error of leniency, error of severity

What are advantages of questionnaires?

cost, anonymity, interviewer bias

What are advantages of interviews?

response rates, audience, clarity, depth of questioning, missing information, supplementary data

What are biomarkers?

a characteristic that is objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of normal biolgoical processes, pathogenic processes, or pharmacological response toa therapeutic intervention

What are types of biomarkers?

routine clinical measurements, laboratory tests of blood, other blood fluids, and tissue samples

What are advantages of biomarkers?

objective measures of biological processes, more accurate and precise than self-report or psychological measures, provide valid indicators of target variables

What are disadvantages of biomarkers?

often expensive to collect and analyze, procedures may infleunce the variables being studies, variability across laboratory protocols can affect results, normative values may be biased or not generalizable across populations

What are physical performance tests?

measure clients’ abilities and skills; various tests to measure balance, mobility, endurance, and flexibility

What is selecting research personnel?

experience, congruence with sample characteristics, unremarkable appearance, personality

What are training data collectors?

demosntrations, mock interviews

Which statement about interviews and questionaires is true?

questionnaires are appropriate for broader audiences than interviews; response rates tend to be higher with interviews than with questionnaires

Which statement about biomarkers (biophysiologic measures) is true?

oxygen saturation is an example of a measurement